They’re all the rage: Belgium’s top escape rooms

Escape games are booming! There are about 40 of them right now in Belgium. For the indecisive, we’ve gathered 6 escape rooms with great reviews from users and pros.

Never heard of escape rooms? Here’s how it works: you and a group of friends (usually from 3 to 6 persons) are locked inside a room and you have exactly 60 minutes to escape from the mysterious location. How? By solving various riddles, puzzles and mysteries. Age and body strength don’t matter, teamwork and clever outside-the-box thinking do. Each room also comes with a story. In one game you’re breaking out of a lab, in the next you’ll find yourself trapped in a prison cell, an office or even a children’s bedroom. Escape Games Belgium helped us select six escape rooms from all over Belgium that are especially great for English speakers. Ready, set, go! Time is running out…

The Longest Hour, Ypres

Back to the First World War

What better theme to pick for a location like Ypres than World War I? A century ago, the city was almost completely destroyed during WWI and this escape room in an old house in downtown Ypres takes you back to those days. One of the most perfervid and eccentric collectors of military items lived in this house and rumor has it he was a bit of a lunatic. He disappeared in obscure circumstances and nobody knows where he is. It’s up to you to find out why this old man never invited people back to his home. Solve the mystery and escape on time!

Russian Lab, Ghent

Save the city from a terrorist attack

The Russian Lab game takes place in the heart of Ghent. During the Cold War there was a secret Russian Lab – a myth according to many, until now… A terrorist organization has reopened the Lab and produces a poisonous gas, determined to destroy the city of Ghent. Recruited as spies of the European Secret Service you have the task to break into the lab and create an antidote. You have 60 minutes to save the city.

2 to 7 players, starting at € 60

An amazing amount of detail

The creator behind the Russian Lab (Puzzle) is opening a new room in Ghent soon, called the Chocolate factory.

The lost diamonds, Antwerp

Find the hidden loot!

Diamonds… a theme that fits the city of Antwerp well! Thieves have stolen a collection of valuable diamonds and the police were able to capture them, but the robbers refuse to reveal where the diamonds are hidden. The room is your only clue… You have one hour inside to find the diamonds before the thieves post bail and return to the room. The story is based on an actual diamond heist that happened at Brussels Airport in 2013.

2 to 6 players, starting at € 84 (per 2 or 3 people)

Great location in a beautiful building near the MAS Islet.

There are three other escape rooms in the building: you’re either locked inside the office of a private investigator, inside a children’s room or inside a laboratory.

The owner played a lot of escape games himself before opening this one.

Chicago 1930, Liège

Al Capone & Belgian beer

It’s 1930. You’re a small but very successful Belgian beer merchant in Chicago, and trouble is around the corner… A certain American gangster called Al Capone can’t stand the fact that your business is so successful so he plants a bom in your office. You have 60 minutes to save your skin… and beer. The escape room is set in the heart of Liège, it was the first of its kind in Wallonia.

3 to 6 people players

Curious to know what you are getting yourself into? You can find a bonus puzzle on the website.

There’s another room (‘The mystery of the Hikiomoris’) in the same building that takes you to Japan to solve the mystery of eternal life.

Cabin in the woods, Mechelen

Disappearance in the Alps

It is winter and it is freezing cold… You are a member of a top investigation team and you have been summoned to a small hamlet in the Austrian Alps to solve the mysterious disappearance of a group of friends from Mechelen. They were last seen in the vicinity of the chalet… It’s up to you to figure out what happened to the friends. You have 60 minutes to find them on time and get them home safely, it’s a matter of life or death!

3 to 6 players, starting at € 70

Room with a real wow-factor, set in a beautiful historical building in the centre of Mechelen.

A new (and fourth) escape room by the same creator just opened! It’s set in space in the year 2466. You are a group of space travelers, and you are on a expedition to an undiscovered planet… How exciting!

Fun fact: The owners helped someone make a wedding proposal in the escape rooms: the ring was part of the unraveling mystery.

Sherlocked, Brussels

Take on the role of Watson!

The great detective, Sherlock Holmes, has urgent need of your assistance. With his help you infiltrate the office of the notorious Professor Moriarty in order to foil his dastardly ploy… You have 60 minutes during which your mental acumen will be tested against a ticking clock. The riddles and puzzles in this game are most original and inventive!

3 to 6 players, starting at € 90 (2 or 3 people)

Located near the Brussels Central Station (Kunstberg).

Two more escape rooms to discover by the same creator: The Mayan Temple and Phileas Fogg’s Residence.

Escape rooms are very fun and exciting! Regardless of whether you are playing with your family, colleagues or a game organized by a teacher in the classroom, you will get an unforgettable experience, provided that the escape game is qualitatively done. Creating an escape room is not as easy as it might seem. So if you need help – super-escape-room